The present invention relates to a linear seat recliner and, in particular, to a power linear seat recliner system for positioning and retaining a reclinable seat back of a vehicle seat in a desired angular position.
Conventional power linear seat recliner systems use a central motor which drives two actuator cables. The cables, in turn, plug into gear nuts which engage threaded shafts on opposite lateral sides of a seat. The threaded shafts, which reciprocate in a linear fashion, are secured to a pivotal mechanism which provides seat back reclining adjustment relative to the linear motion of the threaded shaft. However, such systems are unreliable in that the connection between the cables and the gear nuts are prone to premature failure and are generally noisy. Additionally, a larger motor is required because of the large torque and indirect speed reduction requirements. Further, conventional linear power seat systems are installed with the motor mounted directly under the seat cushion which necessitates a raised seat height, thereby reducing available headroom within the vehicle. Another disadvantage is that conventional power recliner systems cannot be assembled as a recliner subassembly for quality testing prior to installation into the seat structure.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a relatively simple design for a two-sided power linear seat recliner system which uses an integrally mounted motor to directly drive one side of the recliner system and motor driven actuation means for driving the opposite side of the system. The actuation means can include either a single cable or a torque tube provided to interconnect the two sides of the recliner system. The system components are assembled as a single unit before installation in a seat system. In fact, the present invention utilizes a large number of common and mirror imaged components within the opposing recliner mechanisms so as to substantially reduce costs while simplifying the assembly and operation thereof. Further, because of the similarity of structure between the master recliner mechanism and the slave recliner mechanism, the cable or the torque tube can be made of any desired length to permit use on seat systems having different widths.
Other advantages and features will become apparent from the following specification taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.